Railway-tie.



N. E. MINER.

RAILWAY TIE.

APPLICATEOH men MAR. 23, 1917.

INVENTDH NEH/210115 Miner WITNESSES ATTORNEY will be accomplished.

A 3. EIE.

gamma-m "can Specification of Letters Eatent.

4, s 3.1. all 7 Patented Join Application filed March 23, 1917. Serial No. 156,957.

To all wiwm it may concern:

Be it known that l, Nnw'ron l Mines, e citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of liulichigan, have invented certain new eruduseful improvements in lleilwcy- Ties, of Which the following is s specification.

This invention reletes to an improvement in railway ties, and more particularly to a steel or metallic tie, it being a purpose to provide a tie-of this character which is so constructed that a Wooden cushion block is provided in conjunction with the metallic tie structure to provide a rail seat into which spikes or other fastening-s for the rail may be driven thus giving the advantages of a metallic tie but at the same time overcoming the necessity for the use oil clamps or other means by which the rail would be rigidly mounted and retaining the advantages to be had in the use of a Wooden tie as the rail is secured to have more or less movement and play due to the inherently elastic properties of the Wooden cushion block.

A further object resides in so construct ing the metallic structure oi the tie that an adjustable brace block is mounted to insure retention of the standard gage or the rail, this brace block being so mounted that as the cushion block may Wear or as it may become necessary to resort to shimming to raise the rail, the same eliicient action Yet another object is to so construct the metallic shell that When the Wooden cushion block is llttecl in place it is protected by a metallic shell, and when. the block is to be removed or turned end for end to present a new bearing surface for the rail this can be accomplished with facility and both re moval and replacement can be carried out Without disturbing: the tie or tearing up the road bed.

With the above and other objects in view which will in part be described and in part understood, the invention embraces certain novel features of coustructimi and combinetions of parts which will be more clearly defined in the specification and'then pointed out in the claims.

in the drawings Figure 1 is a view in elevation of ntie constructed after the manner of my invention and with parts shown insectionto more clearly illustrate the features of corn structlon, Fig. 2 is e top plan view oil the structure with a rail illustrated and fitted in place at one end, Fig. 3 is a vicvv in end elevation of a tie with the rail mounted thereon, Fig l is a detail perspective view to show the construction of the in -ace block.

The body portion of the tie Which is generally indicated by the reference character 1 has at the ends thereof the casings 2, and 3. /Vhile it will be of course understood that the ties Will be made in any size which may be best suited for the particular use, the casings 2 and Elwill be oi such dimensions that the tin'ibers 42 .will be rcceii'ed therein and for ordinary uses the timbers or cushion blocks 4 will probably serve the purpose eHicient-ly if made to he say approximately two feet eight inches long and sir: inches by eight inches in their transverse dimensions.

The top of the tie is cut away or notched as shown at 5 and 6, these notches extend ing into the casings 2 and 3 and being spaced apart sufficiently that when then-ails are placed upon the ooden cushion blocks as exposed through the notched openings, they can be brought to standard gage. The casings 2 and 3 might be made solid over the entire top with the exception or. those portions where the notched openings 5 and 6 are provided; however, it is perhaps pref erable that the top portions of the casings be formed utter the manner shown in Fig. 2 es the tie structure is thus made lighter, cheaper to manufacture, and in such toru'i ii at the cushion block is exposed to the air.

s'ldjucent the notched openings and (l, upstanding brack 7 and 8 are provided on on side of the tie, and brace blocks 9, the construction of which is better shown in l ig. l, are notched or slotted as shown at 10 so that they may be fitted slidubly upon the bracket portions 7 and 8. These ill) Mill

brace blocks are made of such size and the bracket portions are so disposed that when the rails are fitted to bear thereagainst the track will be of standard gage, and it will of course be understood that the provision of these parts will give a more or less rigid bracing to positively insure against spreading of the rails. 1

The central portion of the body structure as indicated generally by the reference character 1 can be made of any desired configuration and construction, the only purpose of this central portion being to connect the ends which are formed in the casings 2 and 3, and in the use of the ties, the metallic portion 1 either with or without the wooden cushion blocks fitted in the'casings 2 and 3, will be placed in the road bed and will be straightened up and properly set. If the cushion blocks 4 have not previously been fitted in place, these are now inserted to such an extent that the inner ends bear closely against the inner ends of the casings 2 and 3, and a portion of the blocks is thus exposed through the notched openings 5 and 6. The brace blocks 9 are fitted in place upon the bracket portions 7 and 8, and then the rails are placed upon the wooden cushion blocks as exposed in the notched openings 5 and 6 and are spread to bear against the blocks 9, after which spikes 11 or other suitable fastening means are driven into the wooden blocks to secure the rails in place. As the blocks 4 are butted at their inner ends against the inner wall of the casings 2 and 3, and the rails are spiked to these blocks, the rails will be held against movement toward each other which would tend to narrow the gage of the track, while at the same time the brace blocks 9 bear against the outer side of the webs of the rails and thus insure that the rails will not spread. As the wooden cushion blocks 4 may be worn by the slight movement of the rails due to traific, the brace blocks 9, slide upon the bracket portions 7 and 8 and will thus be maintained in the same relative position with respect to the rails, in this way acting at all times to accomplish the most eflicient bracing and supporting action. If the blocks become worn appreciably, shims can be fitted beneath the rails or the spikes can be drawn and then the block can be withdrawn through the end of the casing and reversed to present a new bearing surface for the rail, or if perchance the tie should settle through freezing and thawing of the material of the road bed or through some other cause, shimming can be resorted to,

and it will of course be understood that in all of these circumstances and conditions the brace blocks will act with the same efficiency.

From the foregoing it will be seen that have provided a tie which is so constructed that wooden blocks are provided for rail seats to thus give the desired resiliency to the tracks through the inherently flexible qualities of the wood, that the provision of this wooden block makes it possible to use spikes or other standard securing means, and also possible to maintain a sound length of block beneath the rail at a minimum expense, as the block can be reversed to present new bearing surface, that the formation of the shells or casings for the blocks in the manner as described will protect the wood from decay; and, that the provision of the self-adjusting brace blocks will act to give full flexibility to the fastening of the rail while at the same time rigidly bracing the rails against spreading, and will make it possible to maintain the, tracks at all times in good condition at a minimum cost both for material and labor.

While in the foregoing I have shown and described only one specific formation of the body of the tie and certain specified ways in which the remaining parts would be const -ucted and arranged, it will of course be understood that a number of changes and variations might be resorted to without departing from the spirt and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to be limited to the exact disclosure but only to such points as may be set forth in the claims.

I claim 1. A tie including a metallic body portion having casings formed at the extremities thereof with the inner ends of the casings closed, wooden cushion blocks mounted in said casings to have the rails of a tracksupported thereon and spiked on their inner sides thereto,the abutment of said cushion blocks with the inner ends of the casings holding the rails against inward displacement, and sliding brace blocks movably mounted on fixed and rigid portions of the metallic body to be received by and bear against the uter sides of the rails and to thus secure and brace the rails against spreading movement.

2. A metallic tie comprising a body portion having casings formed at its ends and having the inner ends of said casings closed, said body portion having portions of the structure notched out to provide openings into the casings at the top thereof, wooden cushion blocks shaped to be received and fitted snugly in the casings to bear against the closed ends thereof and to have portions exposed through the notched openings, said cushion blocks being thus exposed to have the rails fitted and spiked thereon and the abutment of the blocks against the closedv ends of the casings acting to hold the rails against inward displacement, bracket portions provided on the body of the tie on the 1,:we,eos outer sides of the notched openings, and I In testimony whereof I efifix my signefmre brace blocks provided. Wlth grooves to rein presence of two Witnesses" 'ceive the bracket portions slidably mounted 1 r w, I Leis. thereon to be recen'ed and beer agamst the NE NTQH N a 5 outer sides of the rails and $0 thus secure Witnesses: I

and brace the rails against spreading move- ALLEN E. DEAN, meat. RAYMOND MEQJR. 

